Restrained Love
by B Minor Harmonic
Summary: Set post Key, focusing mainly on Arkarian and Isabel.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own GoT.

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**Isabel**

We kiss, and as always, he takes my breath away. The softness of his lips moves against mine in ways indescribable. His hands clutch at my hips, firmly but gently. I marvel at the feel of his soft hair between my fingers, his overwhelmingly sweet scent – like apples and cinnamon.

As we part, he looks into my eyes and smiles. I feel myself drowning in the intense violet.

"Come and dance with me," he says. We waltz about the room to the melody of our love, talking and laughing, forgetting – if just for a while – the rest of the world. These are the moments I love the most, when we can just be lovers enjoying each other's company. I simply adore the Arkarian that is reserved just for me, the Arkarian that is an 18-year-old in love for the first time, telling me about his numerous foster families and life before the Guard.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks.

"Us," I reply. He takes my hand in his and kisses it before bowing extravagantly, making me giggle. "But I have to go, before my mom gets home."

"Ah, yes. Your dear mother." He smiles sadly at me. "You must treasure every moment you have with her, Isabel. You'll only be able to pass as someone your age for a few years after the youth-retention kicks in and you come to spend eternity with me, and I would hate for you to regret it some day."

"I'll never regret it. Will you come and see me tonight?" Since the final battle Matt and Neriah have been growing ever closer and, unknown to my mother, they've been spending their nights together in my brother's room. This means I get more privacy and no longer need to sneak off to the mountain at night, but Arkarian can come to see me instead. Of course, he's always a gentleman about it. I just wish he wasn't.

"Of course, if that's what you wish."

"Yes, that is what I wish," I mock his words, failing to mimic the perfect flow of his speech.

"I love you, be safe." He calls after me as I run down the candle-lit passageway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Isabel**

Once I get home I say a quick goodnight to Mom and Jimmy sitting on the living room sofa and get ready for bed. By the time I walk into my room in my nightgown Arkarian is already laying in my bed, his combat boots sprawled among the clutter of my bedroom floor.

I snuggle up against him, wrapping a leg around his waist in an attempt to draw him closer.

"Isabel," he frowns at me, taking my knee and placing it so that it's on top of my left one.

I sigh. Arkarian's always like this. I want so much for us to belong to each other in every way possible, but it appears that the days he spent as a Catholic in medieval France has really left him with some strong old-fashioned morals.

"You are such a prude," I groan. "I'm going to die a virgin."

The look on his face changes to one I've never seen him wear before. "Every night I come into your bed and sleep by your side. It's probably the most indecent thing I've done in my life." His voice is dripping with pure anger – so much that I'm frightened by the sudden change in his mood. "And you call me a prude?"

A wave of panic nearly overwhelms me. What if I lose him over this? I can't, I simply can't. "I'm sorry," I plead, pressing my lips against his. "Please let's not fight." His body is tense and frigid against mine.

"Hmm. Just stop pushing your luck and go to sleep, okay?" His voice is still cold and distant, and I fight to hold back the tears. Seeing my expression, his eyes soften and he tenderly takes my face in his palm. Calm flows through me and my eyes begin to drift closed as exhaustion takes over.

Somewhere far away I hear the low murmur of Arkarian's voice as he apologises for snapping at me and I feel his warmth as he wraps an arm around me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Arkarian**

I lay awake for most of the night, listening to the deep breathing of my love beside me. The rhythmic rise and fall of her chest beneath my arm sends me into a blissful half conscious state. However, I am not asleep. I mull over the conversation that occurred between us this evening until the first weak rays of sunlight filter through the cotton curtains hanging across the windows and Isabel shifts into a more comfortable position in my arms.

I acknowledge that the world has changed significantly since my youth, and it is widely accepted for unmarried couples to make love, live together and even have children. And although my body tells me to ravage her until every recurring number ceases to go on and the light of every star gives out, my instinct tells me that I mustn't shame Isabel in that way, that we should wait until she has had enough youthful experiences to settle down and be bonded to me. What she wanted to happen tonight should only happen on our wedding night. Me lying next to her now would be enough to send Matt into a rage if he found out, and rightly so too.

I often wonder how I let myself be talked into this arrangement, but then I think again, and I realise that it takes every fibre of my being to deny Isabel anything. The chocolate brown of her eyes, swirling in their endless whirlpools, has me attempting to memorize every intricate pattern they create. I love the way her hair catches the light and cascades down her back like silk, framing her face like a halo and making her appear angelic.

I've secretly watched her grow out of her childish body and into that of a young woman's over the past year, becoming more beautiful with each passing day. While I was growing up I often saw many a handsome maid, for it is true when one hears that Paris is a city of passion and beautiful women, but I never knew true perfection until now. Sometimes at night I – just lightly – trace the outline of her figure with my fingertips, savouring every one of her delicious curves. It is at times like these that I truly feel like the bastard that I am and want to beg for forgiveness for being unworthy of her, for being unable to worship her like a goddess surpassing Aphrodite deserves to be worshipped. It is my greatest fear that some day she will realise that she's wasting her life with me, and will leave for someone better. My blood boils at the thought of that. Out there is someone worthy of her, a man who is not trapped in the body of a boy, or with the hormones of a desirous teenager.

I wonder how long it will be until I give in. It breaks my heart to say no to her. I'd have thought that after waiting a year to be able to have her I'd give her anything she wanted, and yet here I am, contemplating.


	4. Chapter 4

**Arkarian**

I wake to find my eyes looking at a rectangle of light slanting across Isabel's ceiling, and recall with mounting dread our argument yesterday evening. I shift so that I'm looking at her sleeping form. There she lays, her eyelids fluttering briefly as she senses my movement beside her. She turns in her sleep and curls into a ball, pressing her warmth against me. I press my nose into her hair, taking comfort in her warmth, and the knowledge that she is _mine_.

I know I should wake her, as I can tell that her bus is going to arrive soon by judging the light, but I simply don't want this moment to end. I remember the first time she slept in my arms. We were on our first mission together, watching over my mother. I'd never imagined that I'd one day be able to feel her heartbeat anytime I want.


	5. Chapter 5

**Isabel**

I hurry into class late. Arkarian failed to wake me in time for school, so I had to run the whole way here. Luckily it's only history. Since Carter "disappeared" without warning whatsoever, the school hasn't been able to find a replacement for him as of yet. We've had numerous supplies that fail to control the class, so I can usually slip in quietly and act as if I'd been there the whole time. By the looks of things, a new history teacher isn't going to be appointed for at least another six months. The whole class is going to fail. Well, the whole class excluding Ethan and I. We'll simply pass with flying colours.

I slump down in my seat next to Ethan, putting on a bored expression, as if I've been sitting here for the past half hour along with everyone else. Ethan raises his eyebrows at me, but I just smile in reply. He's been getting a lot better these past few weeks, steadily returning to his previous cheerful self.

"And how was Loverboy this morning?" He inquires with a knowing smirk.

I feign innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Whatever you say."

During the rest of the chaotic lesson I muse over what happened yesterday. We woke up with little time to spare this morning, so we didn't have much time to talk. I would have stayed with Arkarian, but my attendance record is dangerously low and the school has already threatened to suspend me if it gets any worse. Ethan can tell that something's up, so at break time he discreetly takes me to a corner and well, corners me.

"Are you alright?" He pokes me in the ribs to show that he's not too serious.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

His eyes narrow in suspicion. "I don't know, but you're usually real cheerful after a night with Arkarian." He says the last part of the sentence in hushed tones, so as not to draw any unwanted attention.

"Oh? And what makes you think I was with him?"

"Be honest, Isabel, you stink of his oldness."

I laugh lightheartedly, trying to dispel his worries. "I'm fine, really. Now watch out before you turn into Matt!"

"You know I only worry out of love for you," he pulls me into a single-armed hug as we start down the hallway. His arm stays across my shoulders as he looks down at me. "Seriously, though. Did you two fight or something?"

"Well, I wouldn't call it a fight, but we may have, you know…." I leave my sentence hanging as I recall the reason for our quarrel, my face heating into a crimson blush. Ethan, however, interprets it differently. He laughs. "You mean you _did it_ last night, and it didn't live up to your expectations?"

"No!" I exclaim in mortification. "Ew, Ethan! How could you even _think_ that?"

He shrugs in reply, muttering something I fail to hear. I laugh, planting a big kiss on his cheek. "I love you too, you know."

He smiles down at me. "I wonder what Arkarian would say if he heard you say that to me."

"What do you mean?"

"He'd probably die with jealousy."

For a moment I fail to register what he's just said. Then I try to dismiss the idea. "No! Arkarian wouldn't get jealous. How could he? He's Arkarian."

"Don't be so sure," Ethan says in a sing-song voice. Then he says in a softer voice, "I could see it in his eyes that time you mistook me for the one that saved you from the Middle Realm. He was close to tears."

These words take me by surprise, and for an instant I can only stare dumbly at Ethan. Some idiot boys from the lower grades run past wolf-whistling, mistaking the moment for one between lovers, snapping me out of my trance.

"You're really lucky, Isabel," Ethan continues in the same soft voice, "and Arkarian has had a hard life. He's been hurt a lot, especially when he was pining after you. You nearly destroyed his soul." He smiles at my stunned expression. "That's right – he's desperately wanted you for a long time. And you thought it was only when you rescued him from the Underworld, huh?" He chuckles to himself before continuing. "I've known him for so many years, but I never once saw him like the day he first met you. It was love at first sight, Iz." He ruffles my hair playfully. "So you better love him back with all you've got, 'cos he's been a brother to me, and a father when my father wasn't there, and a friend all the other times, and I don't want to see him anguished any longer, okay?"

All I can do is nod my head slowly as the bell rings for third period. I know that Ethan only means to tell me that Arkarian loves me, but his words strike deeper than he intends them to. I never thought that perhaps I've hurt Arkarian before, but with an abrupt burst of self-loathing I realize that I have. And many times at that. Suddenly I no longer care for my attendance record. The school can do whatever it wants, but I simply must see him.


End file.
